Portable Media Player Wireless Remote Control for Home Audio
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing multimedia systems require physical proximity to a personal computer to control playback of streamed multimedia data, and existing solutions for remote access and control, such as the Sonos Digital Music System, involve substantial equipment investment.
Innovation Solution
A portable multimedia player wirelessly accesses and controls a media server, allowing users to remotely manage digital media playback on connected devices like stereos without transferring the media files themselves, using metadata for control signals and minimizing battery consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a personal computer is used as a media server to store and stream multimedia data, then the capacity and capability for multimedia storage and playback are improved, but the requirement for physical proximity to control playback worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a portable media player as an intermediary device between the user and the personal computer media server. The player wirelessly receives control signals from the user and relays them to the media server, enabling remote control without requiring physical proximity to the computer. This mediator approach resolves the contradiction by maintaining the PC's storage capacity while adding remote control capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/physical control method (directly operating the computer interface) with a wireless communication system. The portable media player uses wireless protocols to transmit control signals to the media server, substituting the need for physical presence at the computer with wireless electronic communication, thereby enabling remote operation.
2Ease of operation
If zone based systems with distributed units and controller units are implemented for remote access and control, then remote control capability is improved, but the equipment investment and system complexity worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the portable media player serve multiple functions: it acts as a remote control interface, a wireless communication device, and a control signal router. By making the player universal and multi-functional, the system avoids requiring separate dedicated controller units and distributed devices, thereby reducing equipment investment while maintaining remote control capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The portable media player autonomously handles the coordination between the user interface and the media server without requiring additional controller units. The player itself performs the control signal processing and wireless communication functions, making the system self-sufficient and eliminating the need for extra specialized equipment.
Data Source
AI summary
A portable multimedia player is used to wirelessly access and control a media server that is streaming digital media by way of a wireless interface to a media unit such as a stereo/speakers in the case of streaming digital audio. In one embodiment, the portable multimedia player is wirelessly synchronized to a selected one(s) of a number of digital media files stored on the media server in such a way that digital media file metadata (song title, author, etc.) associated with the selected digital media file(s) only is transferred from the media server to be stored in the portable media player.